


Episodic

by BlueDreams



Category: Half-Life
Genre: Amputee, Anthology, Drabbles, Gen, I'll take requests for other short story ideas, collection, some are light some not so much, vortigaunt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-05-15
Updated: 2019-03-27
Packaged: 2019-05-07 13:53:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 3,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14672445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlueDreams/pseuds/BlueDreams
Summary: A series of stories in the Half-Life universe from major players to nameless inhabitants.





	1. A Little Surprise

As part of a reconnaissance mission to find supplies in the outskirts, a rebel named Javier explored a rural area east of City 17. He had learned from intel that there may be an abandoned military base that may store materials needed for the Resistance’s armed personnel. With a group of accompanying rebels, he treks forward across the swath of long grass that stretched for acres. After minutes of banter to subside the boredom, they saw a building in the distance that appeared to have been a missile silo with rusting, Cyrillic lettering across its veneer.

The group spread out to head toward it while Javier chose to be on alert in case intruders were present, themselves being exempt. Time was passing as Javier was growing tired of pacing back forth, leading him to wander around the base’s perimeter to find anything interesting and possibly helpful. Outside of dirt and cement, there didn’t seem to be anything near the base that caught his eye. He spotted something in his peripheral vision, however, and turned his head to see indentation in the long grass to his right side.

He told the group inside he might have found something and walked onward to his object of significance. The grass, upon closer inspection, was concealing a disarmed missile that had rusted away to a weak, brown form of its former self. Curiosity getting the better of him, he wanted to look around the missile to look for anything else. As he peered closer to the sides of the grass patted down by the missile’s weight, he noticed movement from underneath the missile’s sides.

He hesitantly moved forward to see more of the object, which had revealed to be an alien like product that was unlike anything the headcrabs or antlions possessed. A pulsating red membrane with a green branch-like surface that covered the membrane save for circles that showed red. Symmetrical claw-like protrusions came from cardinal directions relative to Javier’s sight. The membrane started to shake, causing him to reel back and ready his sub-machine gun with fingers shakily on the trigger. A bump was forming in the middle, with a red insectoid alien with a green singular eye came out slowly.

About the size of a human hand, it scurried around the membrane and caused Javier to back off a few steps. The creature scouted around before sensing the human lifeform in front of it. Possibly out of its own primal sense of curiosity, it came toward Javier slowly. Javier stared at the bug for a few seconds, and he slowly smiled at the creature.

“Well, aren’t you a funny little guy,” he said with a gradually calmed voice. “Are you dangerous?”

Its parrot-like beak of a mouth slightly extended forward, but it didn’t perturb Javier much. With his gun lowered but fingers close to the trigger, he extended his arm slowly to the creature.

“If you try to bite me, I’ll have to go pest control on ya. So, let’s be friends.”

The alien slowly put its leg on his hand, retracted it, then went entirely on his hand. With a prideful smile, he cupped the insect firmly and headed inside.

“Hey, guys! You won’t believe what I just found!”


	2. Alyx's Discovery

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alyx takes some time to explore a junkyard to find a bit of the Old World still around

The sun was at the perfect temperature for getting some outdoor exercise when the stuffiness of the lab was getting too much for Alyx. To be on the safe side, she took a route that was away from Combine jurisdiction. It was a fairly abandoned area that only rebels and drifters used due to the tendency for headcrabs to be dispersed here and there.

A few bullets in some alien pests weren’t substantial losses however, as the route led to a run-down pre-war industrial base booming with useful scrap. Alyx in particular scoped out the junkyard as she was fascinated by these old-world machines and what came out of them.

A rusted stationwagon with a fading red palette caught her eye and went to scavenge it for anything useful. She rummaged the trunk to find nothing and headed to the interior seating. It was completely filled with junk, from fast food wrappers to broken tools across the dirty seats. She was about to give up on it until she found an object that was rarely found in this day and age.

She picked up a cassette tape and examined it, finding it to be a blank tape for recording and not with any prepackaged music. While skulking around, she found a device that could take in the cassette and inserted it in. She figured it wouldn’t hurt to have some white noise while patrolling around to kill off boredom.

Noticing the tape was at its end, she fiddled around with different buttons with growing annoyance. The reverse button was found soon enough to her relief and she pressed it to hear what was on the beginning. She pressed play and there were barely audible sounds of someone talking, until a few seconds in when the person’s voice was gradually coming in more clearly.

“Ah, there we go,” said the person from the tape. “Well, I’m a little nervous. The big day and all. I’m- I’m going to break the question to her! I still got- I still got cold feet, though. But hey, it’s the 80s! The time to let loose right? Oh god, I hope I don’t get too loose.”

Alyx paused and chuckled heartily at the person’s anxiety. She resumed the tape as she went to explore a nearby car for parts.

“She said yes! I’m- I feel like I could throw up from all the joy! Oh my god, this is radical!” Alyx groaned after hearing that, knowing it was something Barney would say at times. “I need a nice suit, though. Something light blue should work.”

The part skipped over to some indeterminate time after the assumed wedding. All the while, Alyx grabbed a bag of unopened cheese snacks. She decided to taste one and was pleasantly surprised at how well preserved they were. She ate more as she listened and searched.

“Well, we were expecting a baby soon. But, uh… The doctor said that Loretta might have some complications giving birth, so I have no problem adopting. I hope I’ll be a good dad. I don’t have much of a throwing arm for playing ball, but I can play a mean clarinet for the kid.”

Alyx snorted, unaware of the orange stains around her fingers and lips. She continued the recording.

“We got a wonderful girl today! Her name’s Kelly and she’s very sweet! I bet she’ll make tons of friends in school. She probably won’t like the Smiths’ kid, though. He’s… well, a bit of an asshole. I know you can’t call kids that, but holy crap. But I think she’ll get along fine with everyone.”

She smiled warmly with a toothy expression during the monologues about the child. She frowned slightly after remembering the lack of children nowadays, but she kept playing to avoid dwelling on that thought.

“I knew it! I knew that Smith kid was going to do something bad! I hate to admit it, but I think I need to teach Kelly about self-defense. I don’t know anything about that, but I think there’s a karate place down the town square. She’ll be a little karate kid! Like in that movie Karate Kid!”

Alyx smirked, “Kick his ass, Kelly!” She stopped herself after feeling nauseous, presumably from all the artificially cheesy snacks in one sitting. She put down the bag and rested by a car while she held her hand to her stomach.

“I think I won’t be using this for a while. Casettes seem to be dying out. The things people come up with! CD-Roms! Like tiny laserdiscs for music! Hopefully, I got enough mileage on this for the amount of money I spent on it. Eh, I can always bootleg music if I need to.”

Alyx was becoming more satisfied after the gastrointestinal bombardment of preservative junk food was dying down. As she heard that last bit as a concluding piece, she was about to stop it until she heard some crackling.

“This is the only thing I could find in my dad’s old car, so it’ll have to do,” said a voice that was much more feminine than the previous voice. There was a hint of panic in her tone, and Alyx left it playing.

“It feels unreal, like something out of a horror movie. I just wanted to visit my folks’ place. I don’t know if I’m going insane or not. There’s these blue openings in the sky that keep sending these flying robot things. What the hell is going on?”

Alyx listened more intently, knowing this was reminiscent of the Portal Storms.

“There’s all these flying helicopter monsters coming in like a flock of birds, but there’s gotta be a hundred in just one formation just blotting the sky. I couldn’t move for minutes, I was so scared.”

“There were some broadcasts that showed these tall things with three legs just shooting and blasting everything. It- I know I’ve never been too religious- But it feels like the actual apocalypse. Every soldier out there is getting torn up. I want to wake up. Please.”

“I keep hearing explosions. Just bombs. Every minute there’s a bomb. They’ll bomb us. I know it. They always find you.”

“A day. It- It all happened in a day. And this guy with a beard comes out of nowhere to be a king or whatever. He keeps calling these things benefactors. Bullshit, nothing they’ve done was anything close to good. There’s no one on the streets who isn’t miserable or a part of them.”

Alyx stopped the recording as she stared at the clear, blue sky and took in a deep breath. She resumed.

“The car’s dying, so I have to park it somewhere where it can’t be used by them. They’re so close to me. I gotta g- “

The rest of the mix was clear of any human dialog, only barely discernable sounds that may have been running and fighting. Alyx got up slowly and grabbed what she could before leaving. She had heard stories like that of those times, and even she felt a glimpse as a child. But it was another thing to hear a firsthand account, and the emotions that came with it. She tried to stomach it and put it behind her, but she kept looking back at the car. After some internal tug-of-war, she picked up the cassette as well.

“She probably survived. She was a fighter before it happened. Kelly might still be around.”

She had different thoughts fighting for control in her head. Blind optimism, realistic images of death. The concept of uncertainty barely made it through and even then, she could not let it go. This person that she’d never seen or talked too might be in danger, well and able, or dead. Why did she care so much? It rattled on in her head, but she figured it might be fate if she ever crossed paths with that survivor. And if, or when, it happened, she’d like to ask her some questions she thought about.


	3. A Headcrab's Journey

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Our favorite little parasite searches for food despite some obstacles

The toxic, yellowish liquid bubbled, with the presence of a foreboding menace coming to a head. Well, a headcrab anyway. The watermelon sized creature pitter-pattered way with its tiny legs and began its search for a host body in order to get its daily nutrients.

It began to scurry along toward a dark cavern, attracted to the cool, damp air that resonated from inside. Relying on its own rudimentary senses, it could not see the many dangers lurking around the corner. A barnacle bided its time for an unsuspecting victim to get ensnared in its long, sticky tongue, and the hapless headcrab appeared to be coming straight toward it. The headcrab came closer and closer to the barnacle, but as the barnacle was ready the headcrab was diverted after hearing a sound from its right side and sauntered away from the predator’s clutches.

The one-tracked mind of the parasite went on a linear route to the noise of some organism with an appropriately-sized cranium, unaware of any bumps or obstacles in the way. A puddle of water was in its path, and the headcrab had no way to get across without sinking and drowning. As luck would have it, a piece of the cavern’s ceiling dislodged itself and dropped in the puddle’s place. The headcrab went along and used it as a platform to get to the other side and find that succulent noggin.

Furious, aggressive chittering was heard from all around. Antlions were around! And they seemed to have made this place their home judging from the quantity of noises. The headcrab tried to search around for alternate paths to avoid being eaten. It felt around for anything soft on the sides of the terrain, sensing a bit of webbing that it could luckily crawl through due to the large holes in them. It crawled around the intricate tunnels where the antlions stored their larva, and the headcrab blindly strutted through the nesting that housed various human corpses.

It dropped down from an opening that led to a different area of the cavern, and it continued to search for the delicacy of a noise. It was sidetracked, however, when it heard a calming sound around it. It crawled over to glowing, blue substances that vortigaunts used as healing nectar. It felt around the hand-sized nectar and began to sip on the juices with its beaked opening of a mouth under its belly.

The headcrab felt odd after the consumption, feeling a surge of energy that was complimented by its coloring changing from tan to a purple color. Its speed was twice as fast, and its energy was incredible, allowing it to jump over small clearings with the span of a normal human’s. It scurried quickly to the source, now with the nectarium at its side.

Its alien blood was pumping rapidly, its adrenaline kicking in. The creature moved so fast in its hunger that it went past a group of antlions without any fear, much to the predators’ confusion. The antlions composed themselves and started chasing the headcrab, and the critter was coming closer to its target and needed to get there before it became bug food.

The sound came from a wounded Combine whose group had been overwhelmed by antlions, with the number of Combine bodies being 3 to the antlions’ 15. The Combine soldier heard the all-too-familiar sound of rapidly-flapping wings and insectoid legs, and it limped its body to a computer station where data was being inputted. Once the deed was finished following a positive beeping click, the soldier fired a submachine gun at the bugs. The headcrab was too small for the soldier to see, however, and the parasite latched onto the head without a moment to spare. Using its newfound Combine strength and durability, it smacked and slashed the antlions to death until the rest scattered away in retreat.

The headcrab could now enjoy its steady flow of nutrients from its large host, shuffling around in its newfound legs. The experience was cut short momentarily as the computer’s beeping stopped, and a hidden compartment opened up from inside a walling. An advidor’s pod had appeared, with its psychic energy pulsating the zombine’s primitive brain, angering it. As the grub-like entity continued its defensive mental strikes, the zombine grasped at the grenade on its belt and accidentally threw it toward the pod’s metallic supports. The weapon exploded, and the terrain started shaking. The area around the pod was crubling and rocks from above were dislodged and started falling on the advisor, with boulder after boulder pelting the machinery until it cracked. The advisor’s head was vulnerable and menacingly yelled in an echoing sound before another boulder crushed it on the head, killing the creature and shutting it up to the relief of the zombine. Satisfied, it skedaddled coolly into the trail ahead, enjoying its leisurely meal along the way.


	4. Useful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wounded fighter chats with his vort coworker

The firefight that had taken place outside of the silo would be his last shot at being a hero. Marcus Liu was now relegated to the much safer job of watching security cameras after the attack cost him his right leg. Not that fighting for his life was a dream job, but he felt empty doing the same thing day after day knowing that others had to sacrifice more in this ongoing rebellion. 

“It beats doing nothing,” he grumbled. “But I used to be a top shot! Not to Freeman or Vance’s levels, but damn near ‘em!” He had a tinge of pride as he said them, his lips curled as his black mustache followed. 

Sitting next to him was a vortigaunt technician, who watched another set of cameras with the added benefit of giving Marcus company. The vort turned their head to look at Javier with a low hum, with a few of their other eyes looking at the camera.

“The Marcus Liu is troubled yet again,” they said, blurring the line of sincerity and sarcasm.  
“You’re damn right. This isn’t the life for me.”  
“And yet, you persevere.”  
“You know what I meant, smartass.” He exhaled, looking at his amputated leg, momentarily thinking it was still there as his face dropped. “I get I can’t fight again. But I hate being cooped up in here. I want to do more recon work, more exploring. More ways to be useful to the cause.”

The vortigaunt made a growling “Lrr” through their voice, examining Marcus in his frustrated position.

“The Marcus Liu has delivered on all his tasks. The struggle for freedom is not so utilitarian as you might think.”

Marcus was about to chide the vort about they really knew about oppression until he remembered that they used to have collars and cuffs. He bit his lip and let them continue.

“When my kin suffered injuries that brush against mortality, our former masters would grant them no aid. We were only allowed to work and fight for eons. It is the same poison that fills the Combine’s plastic heart. “  
“Like we’re anything like those bastards!,” he scoffed.   
“Human history bears a thorn to your rosy argument.” Marcus grimaced at their words. “But humanity is gifted with more than the penchant for war and slavery. You had a life before the invasion, had you not?”  
“Barely. I was a graphic designer, if you can believe it.” The vort was silent. “You know, art stuff.”  
“Ahh.” The low reverberations of their voice was becoming more soothing to Marcus. “The creation of images.”  
“You can call it that, yeah. But when the Combine came, I had no other real skill. I wasn’t confident in doing much else that helped people like engineering or medicine. So I had to force myself to be a fighter. A damn fine one if I can gloat.”  
“The Marcus Liu has permission.” He was chuckling at the vort’s retort.

The vortigaunt then looked around to look at the architecture of the White Forest, the faded plaster and concrete as black and green paint chipped away leaving wan holes scattered about. Marcus followed their eyesight and leered at what the vort might be implying.

“If you’re suggesting I become a painter,” he groaned. “I doubt it’ll help my issue.”  
“My kin give me visuals of other places,” the vort softly said, closing their eyes in concentration. “Some of these were images of more populated dwellings. Paint would be used for the rebel cause.”  
“Oh? How so?”  
“There was a message to each. The lambda scattered across. A hand reaching out. A man cradling an infant.” Marcus was silent and stared at him patiently. “I do not yet understand the words underneath them. But they are evident of desire.” The vort relaxed and looked back at Marcus. “It is an innately human sensation that is familiar in the vortessence. To communicate that is a valuable gift if even This One can see. It will not patch up wounds, give nutrition to the starving, or transport you someplace else. But it serves as a reminder that you are not the Combine. And that you know you will live opposing them.”

Marcus leaned back to his chair as he looked around at the camera and looking at his remaining leg. He looked at the chipped, neglected walls for a few seconds before looking back at the vortigaunt.

“I guess this place could use something nice to look at. It’d certainly would keep me occupied when I’m done with this security crap.” He gave a bright grin before softening it as he looked at the vortigaunt. “Thanks for the talk. Uh. What should I call you?”  
“This One will suffice.”  
“Nah, too boring. I’ll call you… Brandon. That seems fitting.”  
“If you must.” They said before checking back at the monitors, so far only examining crows and other rebels on the ground. There was some silence between them before Marcus piped up.

“Of course, you know I’m still going to kick any Combine’s ass if they interrupt my artistry.”  
“As it should be.”


End file.
